Bruce Wayne (Earth-66)
Bruce Wayne (born February 19, 1929) is the orphaned son of a CEO of Wayne Foundation and his wife, the surrogate son of Alfred, the legal guardian of Dick Grayson, a millionaire industrialist, vigilante protector of Gotham City, an officer of the GCPD, a part of both the Dynamic Duo and Terrific Trio, founding member of the Justice League of America, and the CEO of Wayne Foundation. After witnessing his parents' death at the hands of a mugger as a child, Bruce trained his body and mind to peak human condition to battle the forces of evil before returning home to Gotham City in 1954. Inspired by a bat in his ancestral home of Wayne Manor, he took on the mantle of a vigilante who fought crime with the aid of specialized gadgets and vehicles and operated out of a secret hideout underneath Wayne Manor. Operating in his hometown of Gotham City, New Jersey, Bruce began to lead a successful crime-fighting career as the hero Batman. By 1960, Bruce encountered numerous foes, most notably the mysterious and enigmatic Joker, the manipulate and power-hungry Penguin, the obsessive but extremely intelligent Riddler, and the cunning and complex Catwoman, as well as becoming a great ally of the Gotham City Police Department's commissioner, James Gordon, even becoming a duly deputized officer of the law. By this time, he would encounter the former 9-year-old circus performer, Dick Grayson, who lost his parents to the savagery of criminals, similar to what he experienced at the age of 8. Deciding to take in Dick as his youthful ward, Bruce began to mentor Dick to aid him in his crusade against crime, as his sidekick, Robin. He is the titular eponymous main protagonist of Batman. Biography Early Life Bruce Wayne was born on Tuesday, February 19, 1929 in Gotham City, New Jersey, to the owner of Wayne Foundation and his wife. Growing up in Wayne Manor, Bruce had an idyllic childhood due to his family's fortune and the love supplied by his parents, who instilled in him, intelligence, wisdom, and the trait to always care for those around him. Losing His Parents By the time Bruce was 8, his parents were killed by unidentified criminals. Becoming The Batman In the following years, Bruce grew inspired to make himself a symbol of fear within the heart of crime in Gotham, beginning to train himself to the peak of physical and mental perfection, mastering many martial arts, the art of deception, tactical skills, and stealth, among other disciplines, even leaving Gotham at age 20 and traveling the world for 5 years in order to further hone his skills. In 1954, at age 25, Bruce returned to Gotham and used his newfound disciplines to take up the persona of a fearsome vigilante known as "the Batman" by launching a one-man war on crime, while also swiftly reclaiming control over his family company, Wayne Foundation, as its CEO. In addition, he also created the Batcave, an expansive subterranean headquarters housing all of his high-tech gadgets, located beneath Wayne Manor, and used his fortune to construct vehicles and build gadgets. Crusade Against Crime Bruce spent 9 years (up until Dick Grayson was orphaned) fighting his way through the streets of Gotham City as the Batman. Examples of Batman's enemies included the extremely intelligent and obsessive Riddler, who wished to prove he was smarter than Batman, despite Bruce constantly outwitting him. Bruce would also ally with the Gotham City Police Department commissioner, James Gordon, and would give the latter a "Bat Phone", which would be used to contact the Batman if the hero's vigilantism was ever urgently needed to defend Gotham. Adopting Dick Grayson In 1963, Bruce would meet the former circus acrobat, Dick Grayson, who lost his parents due to the savagery of criminals. Empathizing with the boy, Bruce would take Dick in as his legal ward and reveal his identity as Batman. After Dick passed Bruce's 6-month training and "the gauntlet", Bruce officially accepted Dick as his sidekick: Robin. Personality Bruce Wayne Bruce Wayne is a very caring and selfless individual, willing to give up living a normal life as a billionaire philanthropist full-time in order to become Batman, and therefore protect the innocent people of Gotham City. Despite not being Batman while out of costume, there is still a measure of steel in Bruce's personality, as he does not need to wear his Batsuit in order to be confident or stand up for himself. Having been raised by Thomas and Martha Wayne, Bruce has proven to be extremely deep and wise. Despite being emotionally traumatized, Bruce has never attempted to disappoint a youth. Batman As Batman, Bruce has been shown to be willing to do what it takes to stop the criminals of Gotham City. Much like his civilian identity as Bruce, Batman is intelligent and wise, and demonstrates a great desire for justice. Fitting to the image of a stereotypical superhero, Bruce also possesses an optimistic attitude regarding the redemption of criminals. While he has admitted that some criminals, such as the Riddler and the Joker may be twisted, with proper work, one day they could, once again, become law-abiding members of society. Bruce freely and unhesitatingly risks his own life for the less fortunate, which is dervied from both a need to punish lawless criminals, much like the ones that killed his parents, as well as the desire to prevent anyone else from experiencing the loss of life like him. Owing to his bat-oriented M.O., Bruce is somewhat frightening and mysterious, although he is more or less, much more comedic than his other counterparts. Due to Bruce's financial riches making Batman possible and knowing that there are youths in Gotham City who believe that they wish to be like him or actually want to believe him, is himself, as Batman, always on his best behavior, being obsessively moral. Abilities *'Genius-Level Intellect:' Bruce is an extraordinarily intelligent individual. His immense intelligence was seen by how he was able to effectively fight crime in Gotham City for years without exposing his real activities to the public and a majority of his remaining family. He is (possibly) the most intelligent individual on Earth-66 and one of the most intelligent individuals in Dimension-66. **'Expert Driver:' Bruce is capable of driving vehicles, such as cars. As Batman, he utilizes the Batmobile when out on patrol. **'Expert Mathematician:' As a businessman, a "real champion" of business, and the CEO of Wayne Foundation, Bruce is equally exceptionally skilled and gifted with mathematics and numbers. He was able to easily aid Dick Grayson with the latter's algebra homework. **'Master Businessman:' Bruce Wayne is an extraordinarily and phenomenally brilliant and exceptionally skilled businessman, having extensive skills and experience in business management, and possesses a thorough understanding of financial marketing and management and is often seen as an example of a successful industrialist and businessman. He successfully ran his family company, Wayne Foundation, for years with tremendous efficiency, helping the company grow and gain more business partners as the CEO. As a result, Bruce is well-respected in the business world, being known for having his employees' loyalty, as well as his impeccable business ethics, with Wayne Foundation becoming known as a world-renowned organization dedicated to peace and understanding among nations under his leadership, even being called a "real champion" of business. More impressively, Bruce was able to successfully run and oversee Wayne Foundation's daily activities for years, effectively acting as its CEO and maintain its status as a multi-millionaire corporation, despite his vigilantism, without any perceivable difficulty. Indeed, his skills were so great that it was noted had Bruce not been focused on his mission of fighting crime and establishing world peace around the globe, then he would've possibly become the richest billionaire on Earth and perhaps even ventured into the occupation of a trillionaire. **'Master Criminologist:' Bruce, while operating as Batman, is an extremely and phenomenally skilled, experienced, and knowledgeable criminologist, possessing a great insight and understanding of Gotham City's criminals and their mindsets, which allows him to consistently overpower and undermine their operations with extreme effectiveness. Hence, Bruce understood how the "quizzical criminal," the Riddler, operates, able to predict that the latter would deliberately leave clues to confuse the Gotham City Police Department, which may or may not lead to the real crime he would be planning. As Bruce put it, he "contrives his plots like artichokes," and "you have to strip off spiny leaves to reach the heart." Hence, he deduced that the incident in Moldavia was not politically motivated, but rather a clever device to make Commissioner Gordon call him in. In addition, Bruce also understood that for the Riddler, crime was not fun unless he was outwitting Batman and Robin. He knows that a criminal always makes one mistake. **'Master Deceiver/Master Manipulator:' Bruce is an extraordinarily skilled master in both deception and manipulation, as he managed to successfully keep his identity as Batman a secret for many years, not only from the public, but from his remaining family members as well. **'Master Detective/Master Investigator:' As Batman, Bruce is considered to be the world's greatest detective, without any peers or equals. He is capable of observation, forensic investigation, and psychological assessments, as well as intuitive and deductive reasoning of the highest caliber, with human intuition being among Bruce's most effective tools. An immensely formidable detective genius, Bruce regularly outsmarts the highly intelligent Riddler. His skill was so great that Commissioner Gordon turned to Batman for help when the Riddler, who had outwitted the entire Gotham City Police Department a dozen times, attacked Moldavia. He commonly uses logic to deduce intelligent criminal, Riddler's, riddles, such as when the answer to one was a clue to the location of a false robbery, and deduced another answer was the false location of where the Riddler kidnapped his protégé, Robin. When this turned out to be a part of the Riddler's plan, Bruce deduced the real location by listening to the background noise of the phone call he had with Riddler. **'Master Leader:' Bruce is an extremely, exceptionally, and phenomenally skilled and brilliantly talented leader, able to successfully lead and spearhead Wayne Foundation very successfully for years with consistent tremendous effectiveness that eventually led it to becoming known as a world-renowned organization dedicated to peace and understanding among nations. Along with that, as Batman, Bruce was able to masterfully lead his vigilante protégé, Robin, on numerous vigilante escapades and missions. **'Master Strategist/Master Tactician:' Being a near flawless tactician, Bruce is able to think fast and calculate the variables of every situation in order to predict the results of his actions and quickly react as he sees fit, allowing him to seamlessly perform calculations in his head during missions. When Bruce realized Riddler's clues were a trick, he sent the Gotham City Police Department to the false location just in case, while simultaneously surprising the Riddler with Robin with a Trojan Mammoth. His tactical abilities were seen by how he was able to effectively fight crime in Gotham City for years without exposing his real activities to the public and a majority of his remaining family. *'Master Hand-to-Hand Combatant/Master Martial Artist:' Due to his years of fighting crime in Gotham City, Bruce is an exceptional hand-to-hand combatant and martial artist. Bruce's skills would also allow him to successfully mentor his protégé vigilante, Robin, into becoming an extremely skilled combatant in his own right. *'Peak of Human Physical Condition:' As Batman, Bruce is in exceptional physical condition, having a powerful physique from intense years of strenuous training, as well as fighting crime in Gotham City for years. **'Peak of Human Strength:' Bruce's strength as Batman is strong enough to lift a heavy rock. * Skilled Dancer: Bruce, as Batman, is a talented dancer, able to perform a move called the Batusi. Trivia *Unlike most versions of Bruce Wayne, Bruce is a millionaire rather than a billionaire. *Bruce is 6'2" and weighs 210 pounds. **This makes Adam West's portrayal of Batman the first and only known live-incarnation to be as tall and heavy as the comic version of Batman. *Since Bruce was born in 1929, and took up crime-fighting at the age of 25, by the time of season 1, he had been fighting crime for 12 years, since the show started in 1966. **This version of Batman's birthday is on February 19, which might be a reference to the DC Comics version, in which Batman's birthday is also February 19. However, it is possible their birth dates are different. *Bruce is (possibly) right-handed, as Egghead stated in An Egg Grows in Gotham that Batman is not "port handed", meaning that Batman is not left-handed which would most likely extend the behavior to Bruce. *Bruce's favorite drink is orange juice. *Bruce doesn't gamble and highly disapproves of gambling. *The person whom Bruce appears to love and care most about in the world would be his ward, Dick Grayson, as he stated he would give up his own life to save Robin, should the situation ever happen. Behind the Scenes * Bruce Wayne debuted in Detective Comics #27 (May 1939) by creators Bob Kane and Bill Finger.. ** In the DC Comics, Bruce is a vigilante hero known as Batman, the protector of Gotham City, and a man dressed like a bat who fights against evil and strikes terror into the hearts of criminals everywhere. Originally referred to as "the Bat-Man," and still referred to at times as "the Batman," the character is additionally known as "the Caped Crusader," "the Dark Knight," and "the World's Greatest Detective," among other titles. He is also a former mentor of Dick Grayson/Robin, who struck out as his own as Nightwing, and became the protector of Bludhaven. Batman became a very popular character soon after his introduction and gained his own comic book title, Batman, in 1940. An American cultural icon, Batman has been licensed and adapted into a variety of media, from radio to television and film, and appears on a variety of merchandise sold all over the world such as toys and video games. The character has also intrigued psychiatrists with many trying to understand the character's psyche. * Batman marks Bruce Wayne's first live-action television appearance. * This version of Bruce Wayne is campy, comedic, and light-hearted. This is unlike his comic book version, who is a brooding, cold, and serious hero with a dry sense of humor, instead of being a wisecracker. Category:Batman (1966 Television Series Characters) Category:Humans Category:Males Category:Blonde Hair Category:Blue Eyes Category:Wayne Foundation Leaders Category:Executives Category:Justice League of America (Dimension-66) Members Category:Multilingual Characters Category:Heroes Category:Gotham City Residents Category:Martial Artists Category:Vigilantes Category:Caucasians Category:Americans Category:Allusions to the Comics Category:Protagonists Category:Height 6' Category:Height 6'2" Category:Characters Category:Characters From Dimension-66